saveourpens wrote:Hopefully this leads to Ovechkin cooling down a bit.

I don't get this mentality.

Ovechkin is a great talent. Crosby is a great talent. Ovechkin is #1 in the scoring race. If the only way for Crosby to catch him is for Ovechkin to miss several games, then Crosby hasn't done anything to prove he is better.

I want to see a true, genuine, fair competition between the two, and injuries won't help to show who is better. Sure, I would love to see Crosby win the Calder, but it isn't going to make or break his career. And we, as fans, don't need Crosby to get the Calder to know what kind of impact he will have on this team and this league for years to come.

Why can't everyone be happy that there are two players with such great talent entering the league at the same times, instead of hoping for one to slump so the other can unjustly win a meaningless trophy?

Crosby and Ovechkin both need to stay healthy. They are gaining a lot of attention -- positive attention -- and that is nothing but good for the NHL. If one, or both, gets injured, it will hurt the whole league.

saveourpens wrote:Hopefully this leads to Ovechkin cooling down a bit.

Cooling down a bit is one thing, because of being injured is something none of us wishes on an opposing player.

I noticed that Crosby has scored in 40 of 52 games, including streaks of 6, 10 and and 8 games AO by comparison had 8, 6 and 8 as his longest streaks, and had scored in 40 of 50 games played. Fairly similar production and consistency from both.

Being in the DC market, we get AO shoved down our throat. I've seen both in person, and if we didn't have Crosby, we'd be happy to have AO. But this AM, a local radio station had Father Ted (Leonsis) complaining that AO was too physical and had a penchant for taking risks. I don't know if I buy that, but seeing as this injury has surfaced, perhaps it was owner's fear of what happens when his star gets hurt. What grates me down here is that type of owner, who knows little about the nature of hockey, but stuffs it back in your face. We hate the Caps with a passion, long before Leonsis took over, but I fear this guy could drive the team so far into the ground that the franchise goes poof. What on earth would we do if there were no craps to hate? (and two road games a year, used to be three, to pack the opposing house)

Given a choice of the two, for me, Crosby wins out. Sure, he gets as much or more coverage in the Burgh than even AO does in DC. But the head-to-head games, where Ovechkin has struggled against a poor defensive team have struck me most. Crosby hasn't exactly been competing for the Lady Bing, but he has been learning from his earlier gaffes/yapping. The game last wednesday, aside from having a single specatular play by AO, also saw him commit the penalty that resulted in Malone's penalty shot.

Besides, I think a healthy AO giving Crosby competition is good for Crobsy's development. If Crosby doesn't catch AO, so be it. I can even see the calgary defenseman getting it over the both of them, but unless AO misses extended time, I'd say there's an 80% chance he holds Sid off and wins the Calder. Sid will finish with more assists in all likelihood. The other variable is the way the teams are playing around them -- if either team puts together a solid run of wins, that would in all likelihood increase either's chances of scoring.

I think the current gap alone could be closed in the two head-to-head games remaining, but I could see a case where crobsy finishes with more points, but AO wins Calder on the sheer number of goals.

In response to Relantel and Defence21, I agree with both of you. It would be better for the league if Crosby and Ovy compete for the Calder with no one gaining an edge because of an opposing injury. However, if Ovy does cool down a tad because his momentum is broken a bit, than we have no choice but to accept that and the mischevious Crosby fan in me says that it would not hurt Crosby's chances for the Calder. Though 1 or 2 missed games by both really will have no effect on Rookie of the Year.

At this point, I believe that Ovechkin will win it because of his sheer explosivness. It looks like he will get more point this year. Remember Melichar lining up from the hashmarks from a wonderful Crosby pass last game? As Crosby is further enveloped by finishers, we will see that he is the more valuable player.

Me either. But it has always been that way for Pens fans. We had Lemeieux, so many felt it was appropriate to hate Gretzky. Why? Is it impossible to appreciate the talents of two great players? What has AO done to deserve hate from Pens fans? He is not a ******* or anything. He hasn't ddne crap like Kovalchuk did to Crosby. He just goes out and plays hockey, very well I might add. he's not a dirty player or a whiner, or any of the other traits that might cause me to hate him.

Personally, I enjoy watching both of them. Of course I root harder for Sid since he's a Penguin. I am happy we have him. But that does not mean I cannot appreciate a great player on another team, even if it is the Caps. And make no mistake, he is every bit as good as Sid.

I don't mind a little bit of cockiness in a player, as long as it's deserved. If a guy scores a goal, I want to see him be excited about it, especially if it was a really good one. The object is to score, so why not take joy in doing so? I like to see spontaneous emotion in sports.

Where that gets to be a problem is when it's not deserved, like when a football team is losing 21-3 and someone celebrates tackling the RB for a 1 yard gain. Another way is if things are premediated, like hiding cellphones in goalpost pads.

I forget which anchor it was, but he said if hockey was like And1 basketball Ovechkin would be "Hot Sauce." I think that fits and having personalities in sports is always good.

Even in this case it is good, because it gives you someone to hate and that can get you into a game as well.

Me either. But it has always been that way for Pens fans. We had Lemeieux, so many felt it was appropriate to hate Gretzky. Why? Is it impossible to appreciate the talents of two great players? What has AO done to deserve hate from Pens fans? He is not a ******* or anything. He hasn't ddne crap like Kovalchuk did to Crosby. He just goes out and plays hockey, very well I might add. he's not a dirty player or a whiner, or any of the other traits that might cause me to hate him.

Personally, I enjoy watching both of them. Of course I root harder for Sid since he's a Penguin. I am happy we have him. But that does not mean I cannot appreciate a great player on another team, even if it is the Caps. And make no mistake, he is every bit as good as Sid.

I don't get it either! I like them both & at the risk of getting labeled as a bad Penguins fan, I actually like to watch Ovechkin more because of the excitement factor he brings to the game. "Wham bam, thank you ma'am!"
If he doesn't see a corridor to the net, he clears one! I love it!

And it's only a guess but I think the main reason most Pens fans 'dislike' other players who are talented, is they feel they're being disloyal to their own...silly but there it is! Like we can only appreciate one singer, one actor, one artist & one athlete.

saveourpens wrote:Hopefully this leads to Ovechkin cooling down a bit.

I don't get this mentality.

Ovechkin is a great talent. Crosby is a great talent. Ovechkin is #1 in the scoring race. If the only way for Crosby to catch him is for Ovechkin to miss several games, then Crosby hasn't done anything to prove he is better.

I want to see a true, genuine, fair competition between the two, and injuries won't help to show who is better. Sure, I would love to see Crosby win the Calder, but it isn't going to make or break his career. And we, as fans, don't need Crosby to get the Calder to know what kind of impact he will have on this team and this league for years to come.

Why can't everyone be happy that there are two players with such great talent entering the league at the same times, instead of hoping for one to slump so the other can unjustly win a meaningless trophy?

Crosby and Ovechkin both need to stay healthy. They are gaining a lot of attention -- positive attention -- and that is nothing but good for the NHL. If one, or both, gets injured, it will hurt the whole league.

Well said! Here we have something not seen in a lot of years & they are unfortunately pitted against one another for a trophy. Okay, that's the way it is, but don't wish one of them to be hurt so the other can slide ahead. Where's the sportsmanship in that? It's sort of like saying in years past, "I hope Mario gets cancer so Wayne can take the lead in the standings." Kind of shows up a persons character flaws a little, doesn't it?